Exhibit 31.1



CERTIFICATION



I, Michael Sternberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, certify that:



| | 1. |  | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Vertel Corporation;
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| | 2. |  | Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light
of the circumstances under which such statement were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this annual report;
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| | 3. |  | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;
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| | 4. |  | The registrants other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14
and 15d-14) for the registrant and have:
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| | a. |  | designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by
others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is being prepared;
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| | b. |  | evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this annual reports (the
Evaluation Date); and
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| | c. |  | presented in this annual report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
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| | 5. |  | The registrants other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of
registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function):
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| | a. |  | all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial data and have identified for the registrants auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and
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| | b. |  | any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants internal controls; and
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| | 6. |  | The registrants other certifying officers and I have indicated in this annual report whether there were significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could
significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant efficiencies and material weaknesses.
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|Date: November 15, 2003 |  | /s/ MICHAEL A. STERNBERG             
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|                        |  | Michael A. Sternberg                 
|                        |  | President and Chief Executive Officer



A signed original of this written
statement required by Section 906 has been provided to Vertel Corporation and will be retained by Vertel Corporation and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.